TERRAFORMING TERRA
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Friday, January 11, 2013

Cannabis Helping Epileptic Children

This
protocol is so far specific to Dravets, but could also apply to other
forms of disturbed brains. Certainly been able to sharply lower
occurrence is a huge gain that allows a large increase in training
and therapy time.

The
case here is about as bad as it actually gets. If this can be
applied to epilepsy generally, then most folks have occasional
events,, but typically they are daily as the diurnal cycle
progresses. It may be possible to outright eliminate them here.

Most
severe victims are inevitably institutionalized and progress poorly
in acquiring skills. Just avoiding that would be a massive saving to
society.

Cannabis Helping
Children with Severe Epilepsy

July 17, 2012

Sarah Russo

Dravet syndrome is
a severe myoclonic epilepsy whose onset occurs in infancy. Those with
Dravet may have upwards of 100 seizures per day. The most intense
episodes can last for 15 minutes to up to an hour. There is no known
cure. The best available treatment is to minimize seizures,
which are precipitated by environmental stress.

The longer a person
has an epileptic attack, the higher the likelihood that
prolonged damage could occur. Dravet seizures are so intense and long
that brain development is delayed. In severe cases, a
seizure may cause cardiac arrest. Each day can vary drastically
for those with Dravet. There are a variety of pharmaceutical
anticonvulsants available, but none of them eliminate seizures, and
all have side effects.

Recently, a group of
families affected by Dravet have turned to CBD-rich cannabis as a
treatment for their children. These families have formed a Facebook
group with close to 200 members that allows members to provide
support, compare notes, and to share experiences. Some had initial
reservations about using cannabis on their children, but were eager
to try alternatives to conventional pharmaceuticals. The
prospect of less- psychoactive cannabis piqued their interest,
especially in light of the anticonvulsant and anti-inflammatory
properties of CBD.

Suzie Engelhardt,
mother of Regan (age 7), said that pharmaceutical medications left
her daughter “like a zombie” and did not properly control
seizures. Jason David, whose son Jayden is 5 and was featured
on “Weed Wars”, reported that his son was having 100-300
myoclonic seizures per day despite taking 12 different pharmaceutical
drugs. Rebecca Hamilton Brown’s son Cooper is 14 and has been
using cannabis since last year. Brown describes her son as “highly
functional” as a result, and explains, “parents of children with
Dravet often get to a point of feeling scared and desperate… they
tend to be open to alternatives.”

All of the families
have reported improvement in their children’s health after using
CBD cannabis. Cooper Brown is virtually seizure free since he has
been using 3:1 CBD/THC oil capsules. His mother reports that his
overall mood is much improved and his appetite has increased. Rebecca
says that even though Cooper is not completely seizure free, the CBD
cannabis regimen has “improved the frequency and severity of [his]
seizures”.

After experimenting
with different strains and CBD ratios, Regan Engelhardt’s daily
seizure frequency fell from 50 seizures per night down to five.
Before cannabis, her seizures dramatically altered her ability to
walk, sleep, eat, or drink (she had been hospitalized for dehydration
as a result). According to her mother, the pharmaceutical medications
delayed her ability to walk until the age of 2 and left her
“catatonic.” Currently, Regan’s cannabis medicine has
allowed her to be weaned off one pharmaceutical medication, has
increased focus, and is able to sleep through the night. “You see
so much more light back in her eyes” her mother Suzie says. “Just
a couple of weeks ago I wondered if she would ever come back.”

Jayden David has made
vast improvements as well. His father reports that his walking is
better (Jayden was previously non-ambulatory). He can now swim, an
activity he adores, without having a seizure. Jason says that
Jayden’s eye contact is “100 times better” and his
“comprehension has greatly increased”.

All of the families
interviewed have been using CBD strains with varying ratios and
forms. Each has had to use trial and error to find what is most
beneficial for their child. Jason David says that he “has to play
doctor” for his son by experimenting with countless CBD/THC ratios
for Jayden, finally settling on a CBD glycerin tincture. It has
been a constant struggle to pin down the right strain and keep a
steady supply for his son, despite living in California.

Maintaining a reliable
supply is invaluable to families. “You see results” says
Suzie Engelhardt, “and you want to keep it that way.” All the
families have faced similar challenges and have to cope with the ebb
and flow of plant material for their child’s treatment.

All of the families
interviewed live in medical cannabis states (California, Michigan,
and Washington) with functioning analytical labs. The parents
interviewed report that dispensaries’ supply of CBD medicine is
problematic, if they carry CBD medicine at all. Suzie Engelhardt
called over 100 dispensaries seeking plant material with above a 3:1
CBD/THC ratio, even having to resort to looking for CBD medicine on
Craigslist!

None of the families
have noted any criticism of their decision to use cannabis for
their children. Rather, the public has been supportive and understand
Dravet families simply want to do anything that will help affected
children. As Brown puts it, “my kid is [virtually] seizure free,
how can you argue with that?” Luckily these families have mutual
support and the encouragement of the medical cannabis community. The
next step is to ensure reliable access to CBD medicine.

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18 years old, having cleaned out my HS library, I concluded the only ambition worth having was becoming a great genius. An inner voice cheered. Yet it is my path I have shared much to the Human Gesalt. Mar 2017 - 4.56 Mil Pg Views, March 2013 - Posted my paper introducing CLOUD COSMOLOGY & NEUTRAL NEUTRINO described as the SPACE TIME PENDULUM. Sep 2010 -My essay titled A NEW METRIC WITH APPLICATIONS TO PHYSICS AND SOLVING CERTAIN HIGHER ORDERED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS has been published in Physics Essays(AIP) June 2010 quarterly. 40 years ago I took an honors degree in applied mathematics from the University of Waterloo. My interest was Relativity and my last year there saw me complete a 900 level course under Hanno Rund on his work in Relativity. I continued researching new ideas and knowledge since that time and I have prepared a book for publication titled Paradigms Shift. I maintain my blog as a day book and research tool to retain data, record impressions, interpretations and to introduce new insights to readers.